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Replies: 12
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Legend [17596]
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The Million Dollar Clemson QB Question
Nov 5, 2017, 10:04 AM
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Yesterday the Tigers won a tough gritty game on the road against a solid Wolfpack team. T-Net pumpers and dumpers played their usual roles. The QB question mark came up again and again. All were happy to win. Some questioned if the wins can continue into and within the playoffs against quality teams.
IMHO Clemson has more talent at more positions than any team in the country other than Alabama. And Clemson has a better D-Line & WR talent than Bama and equal LB talent. The best and proven way to challenge Bama through the years has been throwing the ball (e.g. Manziel, Machine Gun Kelly, Watson, Cardale Jones ...) They are not often challenged.
The quandary for Clemson coaches is summed up in this snippet from Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Staff Writer released this morning:
"It was an odd night for ACC quarterbacks in wins. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Clemson's Kelly Bryant went 0-for-10 on passes of at least 15 yards downfield, the most such attempts without a completion in a game by any Power 5 quarterback this season."
So how do we compete against playoff caliber teams with no mid-range and long-range passing game? Coaches live to review video tape. Word gets around. It cuts deeper than some T-Netters getting upset at other T-Netters over bogus or sincere player/coaching analyses or criticism. There is only one Deshaun Watson - the greatest player of all time at Clemson and the best NFL QBR before his practice injury this week. Deshaun can't be replaced by anyone other than Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers and maybe a few others. To expect KB or any Clemson QB to replace him is foolhardy. So how does Clemson adapt to utilize some of the best college WR's in the country? This is the million dollar question that can't be answered on T-Net or anywhere but on the field. How do our million dollar coaches handle it? The answer will determine Clemson's 2017 season.
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Hall of Famer [21564]
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Well said.
Nov 5, 2017, 10:15 AM
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And it’s gonna be fun to watch.
I’m more concerned with our defense.
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Orange Blooded [4659]
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Re: The Million Dollar Clemson QB Question
Nov 5, 2017, 10:21 AM
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Personally, if we truly believe in & support one another, I don’t see why we can’t rotate in the other two guys. I don’t see how it hurts the team to bring in Hunter Johnson on empty-back sets and/or Cooper on handoffs, even if only to rest Kelly Bryant from time-to-time. The media and fans make the “rotating quarterbacks” approach seem like such a negative thing, I don’t get it. When you go 0-10, clearly there is a deficiency there. I’d love to see Hunter come in and complete those long ropes to the likes of Cain, Thompson, Rodgers & Higgins. We have a plethora of talent at WR that is being underutilized because of our ineptitude at passing beyond 15 yards and we will need those points and big-time plays in games to come. We left at least 21 points on the field last night.
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Mascot [21]
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You said 0-10 as if we've lost that many
Nov 6, 2017, 3:53 AM
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games, whereas without Bryant we may actually have lost a game. Oh wait, we did.
You don't change QBs in the middle of a game just for kicks and giggles. Without Kelly Bryant's role in Saturday's game, we likely don't win.
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Commissioner [966]
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Re: The Million Dollar Clemson QB Question
Nov 5, 2017, 10:22 AM
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I'm not convinced we're playing our best receivers either. Some of those passes were just horrible (under or overthrown, etc). But some appeared to be quite catchable. And that doesn't get into the 50/50 balls that previous receivers seemed to come down with more than 50% of the time.
Armchair coaching here, but I think Cain needs to be benched, and McCloud needs to stay in the secondary and special teams. Renfrow is obviously a monster, but it's time for some other guys to be on the field more.
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All-TigerNet [10427]
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Cain had one of his best games
Nov 5, 2017, 10:26 AM
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He made some clutch catches against NC State. Overton (his backup) missed some catches he should have made.
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Orange Blooded [2479]
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Re: The Million Dollar Clemson QB Question
Nov 5, 2017, 10:28 AM
[ in reply to Re: The Million Dollar Clemson QB Question ] |
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Cain ended up with good numbers and some big plays last night, but he has been somewhat disappointing this season. Maybe Mike Williams left me spoiled, but Cain has got to make some of those catches on deep balls that he has dropped.
I've wondered why we haven't seen more of Higgins.
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Commissioner [966]
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Re: The Million Dollar Clemson QB Question
Nov 6, 2017, 12:46 AM
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This is pretty much what I was getting at. He had 9 last night, and 7 against 'cuse, but not more than 4 in any other game this year, despite being targeted frequently. Some are bad passes, absolutely (kelly's consistency on the deep ball is obviously hit or miss). And some are either lack of effort, mental errors, or just outright drops.
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CU Guru [1685]
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Re: The Million Dollar Clemson QB Question
Nov 5, 2017, 10:46 AM
[ in reply to Re: The Million Dollar Clemson QB Question ] |
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Cain had 9 catches, are you a moron? He was open deep at least twice and the ball was no where near him - Kelly is a more than adequate runner, not great but good, however even Stoudt was a better downfield passer.
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Starter [369]
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Re: The Million Dollar Clemson QB Question
Nov 6, 2017, 7:32 AM
[ in reply to Re: The Million Dollar Clemson QB Question ] |
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You can't be serious about benching Cain. He is constantly burning the defense deep...only to get one thrown 20 yards left of target (NC State game) or 10 yards over his head (VA Tech) or skipped to him (see Wake). There are very few corners in America that can stay with him. He could easily have 10+ TD's. It's not his fault Kelly can't throw a deep ball accurately.
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All-TigerNet [10427]
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Right now I'm more concerned about injuries to the defense
Nov 5, 2017, 10:24 AM
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Right now I'm more concerned about injuries to our defense than the QB question mark.
* We're down two CBs (Edmond, Carter) due to injuries and forced to play Ray Ray because Amir Trapp clearly can't cover man to man against a receiver over 6' tall (first NC State TD was against Trapp)
* Dexter Lawrence couldn't finish the game due to another injury (ankle?)
* Kendall Joseph was hobbling with a knee injury in the second half
* Tanner Muse is playing with a club on his arm and can't use his hand
We've got a great defense, but depth is an issue, particularly at CB.
Not to mention the injury to Mitch Hyatt. Hopefully it's not serious either.
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Trainer [39]
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Re: The Million Dollar Clemson QB Question
Nov 5, 2017, 10:43 AM
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Our qb can't throw over 15 yards accurately down field,never mind the deep ball. But he is probably the best running qb in the country. But that won't matter starting with the ACCCG. Because with stiff competition you have to be able to throw and run. Leaving the the 5 star player on the bench undeveloped is going to cost us as will the kicking game. If people on here are looking for another natty, they will have to wait because sorry to say it won't happen this year.
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CU Guru [1685]
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Re: The Million Dollar Clemson QB Question
Nov 5, 2017, 10:48 AM
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Best runner, have you seen the Arizona QB, or Hurts at Bammer?
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